Col
regular
Reged: 14/10/2001
Posts: 2507
Loc: Berks
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Well we are back home all safe and sound. We were kept up to date with weather by our onboard tecky bloke RickP and his laptop along with phone calls and texts to & from Derek (DJEfabs) Thanks Derek, was a real help.
The Fuel issue was that 1 tank was always reading much more fuel than the other and we were told there was a fair bit of fuel in from the factory. We were assured the tanks were 2X400 ltrs and our calcs were based on that.
Fuel gauges went from approx 30% to O in about 20 mins so we didn't really have much warning. While we were under tow on the engine that doesn't drive the power steering, the extra strain on the hydraulic steering pump caused a previously undetected weep to become a leak so we lost steering too! I tightened the union but It's still weeping a bit. We decided that with a foul weather forecast, and the possibility of another steering failure in the Dover straits, it would be foolhardy to attempt the crossing, so we moved the boat to Zeebrugge to make it easier to catch a ferry. So that's how we finished the trip.
Rick has loads of photos to upload and will do it asap.
Im off to bed, It's been a very- very long week!!
Full reports to follow.
Cheers Col.
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Cols Picture Album
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BrendanS
regular
Reged: 11/06/2002
Posts: 35813
Loc: Me: Wilts. Boat: Lymington
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Just good to hear you are all safe. Discussion about fuel tank monitoring can wait a day or two.
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See http://www.frappr.com/ybw to add yourself to the forum map
and as everyone else is doing it
www.plaintalkconsulting.co.uk
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AlistairR
regular
Reged: 12/12/2002
Posts: 8243
Loc: North Ayrshire/ Loch Lomond.
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Good to hear you're all back safe, Col.
Cheers
Al.
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.Athlete, Wires.
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longjohnsilver
regular
Reged: 30/05/2001
Posts: 7039
Loc: Devon
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Col good to hear you're all back safely. Just goes to show that fuel guages are notoriously unreliable even if they are new. But 30% to 0 in 20 minutes! That's not good.
No harm done and another tale to recount in the pub 
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SteveE
regular
Reged: 07/03/2003
Posts: 760
Loc: k it or loose it fool
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Col glad you all made it back safe and well... Probably not the best advert for new Westlines... Of all the things that should be accurate on a boat fuel gauges are in my view very near the top of the list..
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Be Compliant, Green and Secure www.softwareseller.co.uk
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Magnum
regular
Reged: 14/01/2004
Posts: 1803
Loc: Switzerland
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Was thinking the same. Still main thing is everyone's safe.
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studgies
regular
Reged: 07/07/2003
Posts: 1422
Loc: Southampton
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Welcome back! Hope to bump into you both again soon.
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MustangTom
regular
Reged: 15/07/2002
Posts: 2289
Loc: Faversham,Kent
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Welcome back, Great story ! and well done, I can not bear the site of boats on the back of trucks(what is that all about) my trips form anywhere are always the best memory I can have or wish for even if you get issues on the way !
Can not wait for Pictures...
Tom
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Frontier
regular
Reged: 11/05/2005
Posts: 1370
Loc: Oxfordshire, England
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Welcome back! looks like an interesting trip. Jez has a knack of finding tricky situations for you 
All the best
D
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